The Last Janitor Episode 2: Change of Plans
by Eruanna1875
Summary: Inspired by my dad: what if Bernard Walton was in "The Last Jedi"? Admiral Holdo is put in command of the Resistance, and tensions new and old rise as the First Order closes in. 2/3 of Rebel Flotilla.
1. Title Crawl

THE LAST JANITOR

EPISODE II

CHANGE OF PLANS

The Resistance, one of the last upholders of freedom in the galaxy, is on the run.

The sinister First Order, utilizing a mysterious new technology, has traced the Resistance fleet through hyperspace, and is now in pursuit with blazing cannons.

However, Resistance Captain POE DAMERON has discovered that the tracing signal can be scrambled, allowing the fleet to escape. All that is needed is to send a team to find a Master Codebreaker, residing on Canto Bight, to disrupt the signal.

But before this plan could be revealed to General Leia Organa, First Order TIE Fighters attacked and destroyed the flagship's bridge, leaving Leia as the sole, and comatose, survivor. Now, command of the fleet is being transferred into the hands of the Vice Admiral...


	2. The New Leader

The room stirred restlessly as Commander D'Acy finished delivering the news about Leia to the rest of the crew. Two of them—Poe Dameron and Bernard Walton—sat beside each other, watching the goings-on. Poe was curious to see who their new leader was.

"Oh no…"

Poe tilted his head back toward the sound of the muttering. "What is it, Bernard?" he whispered back.

"Well, it's—"

"The chain of command," Commander D'Acy continued, unknowingly interrupting him, "is clear as to who should take her place." She paused slightly. "Vice Admiral Holdo, of the cruiser _Ninco_."

"That's what." And the janitor nodded toward the figure that stepped forth.

Holdo was a tall middle-aged woman, wearing a long grey gown and a round hairpiece that looked like it was made of gold. Her short, curly hair was a striking shade of purple. Poe lifted an eyebrow. "Thank you," she said as D'Acy stepped aside. Then she looked out at the crew.

"Seven hundred of us, on six ships. We're the very last of the Resistance. But we're not alone. In every corner of the galaxy, the downtrodden and oppressed know our symbol, and they put their hope in it." Poe reared his head back slightly as he listened, perhaps taking pride in the fact. "We are the spark that will light the fire that _will _restore the Republic. That spark—this Resistance—must survive. That is our mission." She paused, as if for effect. "Now to your stations. And may the Force be with us."

After a moment, the crew began to disperse. Poe looked around in surprise, as if he expected there to be more. But no more came. Holdo stepped lightly off to the side and struck up some conversation or other with Commander D'Acy.

"That's Admiral Holdo?" he asked the janitor. "_Battle of Kyron Belt_ Admiral Holdo?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Bernard sighed.

Poe cocked his head. "Not what I expected." Then he got up and started walking, straight toward the admiral.

Bernard reached out, as if to stop him. "Uh, hold on, Poe. I-I don't think you should—" But the young man was already gone. He sighed again, wearily. "On second thought, I think I'll sit this one out. Don't want to rush into _that _mess."

Meanwhile, Poe approached Holdo, who was now heading for a computer console, manned by one or two technicians.

"Vice Admiral?" he said as he came up. "Commander Dameron. With our current fuel consumption, there's a very limited amount of time that we can stay out of range of those Star Destroyers."

"Very kind of you to make me aware," she said without looking at him, then she began to speak to one of the technicians.

"And we need to shake them," Poe continued, re-confirming his presence, "before we can find a new base, so… what's our plan?"

"Our plan, Captain?" She began walking away, and Poe followed. Holdo turned. "Not Commander, right? Wasn't it Leia's last official act to demote you? For your Dreadnought plan," and she walked another few steps, "where we lost our entire bombing fleet?"

She seemed to think she had ended the conversation, and began once more to leave. Poe stared for a second, trying to figure her out. But he was persistent. "Captain, commander, you can call me whatever you like," he said, following her. He inhaled as she turned to look at him, uncertain of the reaction their plan would get. "I found out some information—some friends and I did, I mean—and we thought it might be helpful."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. We found out that there are people out there who can scramble the First Order's tracking signal. Codebreakers. One of them is pretty nearby, in a city called Canto Bight, on—"

"—Cantonica_,_" she finished, with curling disdain. "I don't think there's much chance of us finding allies on that planet. Not any that won't stab us in the back."

"But on the database, it said that he used to be some kind of technical consultant or something for our side. That could mean he'd be willing to come back and work for us again."

"Who?"

"Well…" Poe paused, going back over the information Davin had given them. "Well, I never got his name."

"I see."

"A friend was looking it up for us on one of the other ships when the attack happened. He… If we just go back in the database, we—"

"Unfortunately, Captain, I don't think it's worth the risk to send a team out on a chance like this."

"Not worth the risk of saving the Resistance?" Poe snapped back, losing patience sharply. However, he quickly reined it back in, and sighed. "Look, Admiral, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I just don't see the point of my sitting here wondering when we'll run out of fuel. I wanna do something to help. But right now, I just wanna know what's going on."

Holdo stood still and looked at him a moment, smiling. "Of course you do. I understand." He stood a little straighter, assuming soldierly posture in anticipation of learning their plan. But she shook her head, still smiling. "I've dealt with plenty of trigger-happy flyboys like you. You're impulsive… dangerous… and the last thing we need right now." She fixed her eyes on him coldly. "So stick to your post, and follow my orders."

The Admiral gave him a last Hothian look, then strolled away.


	3. Battle of Kyron Belt

Poe marched down the hallway to meet the others. Finn, not being part of the crew, wasn't meant to attend, and Rose opted to stay with him and wait for news. Bad news, as they'd find out. Poe was just about to open the doors and deliver it when he heard a voice behind him.

"Poe? Hey, Poe, there you are!"

He turned and saw Bernard approaching. Poe frowned and turned his attention back to the door. He was still a bit ticked by the janitor's disappearance after the meeting. Bernard continued as he came up. "Sorry I didn't meet up with you right away. I was waiting in the hall, but I guess you went out the other one."

"Yeah, I guess so." The door opened and they went in. Poe quickly added with sarcasm, "Oh, and thanks for all the help back there."

"Heh. Sorry. I figured it'd be better for both of us if I stayed out it this time."

Despite his irritation, the young pilot lifted his eyebrows incredulously. "You? Stay out of an argument? If nothing else, you'd sit back and laugh at us while we talked."

Bernard chuckled at his friend's precision. "Well—"

"An argument?" said Finn. "Doesn't sound like things went too well with the new leader."

Rose, Bernard's junior partner in maintenance and ground crew, hopped off of a nearby crate and joined the conversation. "Yeah, who is it? Who'd they get?"

"Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo." Bernard shuddered, mostly for effect. "Purple hair and all."

"I've heard about her," Finn mused. "Battle of Kyron Belt, right?"

"You know, that's the same thing Poe said. Now, I remember that whole thing, and I don't see what was so great about what she did."

"Oh, now, come on, Bernard," Poe interrupted. "Even if neither of us like her, you've got to admit it was clever. You remember how the battle went, you said? Or was that for effect?"

"Yes, I do remember. And it was just a simple maneuver. Not some brilliant move; and let me tell you what else, I have it on good authority she was trying to retreat. Just so happened her path through the Belt went right past where they stashed their bombs or something."

"They'd hidden their explosives on an asteroid until they could load them onto their big ship," Finn jumped in, with no small enthusiasm. "The maneuver was the last thing that Imperial splinter expected. And while they were kept busy with a squadron of starfighters, the _Ninco_ swept in and destroyed the explosives. Then she went back around through the Belt and flanked their other starships. She stopped their plans to take over Coruscant while the entire—"

"—Yeah, the entire leadership of the Republic were in a meeting there," Bernard finished. "You know, Stormtrooper, you seem like you know a lot about this."

Finn seemed to suddenly realize he'd stepped into a spotlight and looked like a sheep that was sheared in the night, and has only realized it at noon. "Well, I—I guess I've just always admired that kind of military ability, clever strategy, you know. Regardless of which side it's on. And…" He glanced down, and his voice lowered. "And especially strategy that saves a lot of people. I mean, those pilots went out there knowing most of them wouldn't come back, and they went out _willingly_, just to save a bunch of people they'd never know."

"They were heroes, pal," said Poe, with a clap on his friend's shoulder.

"Heroes." Finn smiled a bit, then scratched his neck, the wool growing back already. "I-I've never really told anybody about all that before. Back in the First Order, if I said I admired the skill of anybody on your side, they would've assumed I was thinking about deserting."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. You're in the Resistance now. Things are generally pretty different around here."

"I've noticed."

"Course, with Holdo in charge," Bernard added, "you might have to watch your step a little closer." Poe gave him a look of incredulous disapproval. "I know what you just said, Poe, and it's all well and true, but she does run a pretty tight ship—never lets anybody set foot out of line, and I get the feeling she's used to getting no questions asked. Give her an inch, she thinks she's a ruler."

"Well, at least now we're getting back on topic," Rose said with a slight roll of her eyes. Although she was interested in what Finn had to say, military strategy bored the girl. "What did Holdo say about the plan?"

Poe shook his head. "Shut it down immediately. I tried to ask about her plan, see what we need to be doing. But she didn't tell me anything."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Bernard pointed at Poe. "And my being there wouldn't have exactly helped your case, either, let me tell you."

Poe vaulted an eyebrow, but said nothing more on the subject. He felt sure there was more behind the janitor's remarks than speculation, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "So what should we do now?"

"Well, if she won't tell us _her_ plan," Finn summarized, "_or_ listen to ours, I don't see what we can do."

"We can just stick to our posts," suggested Rose, as if it were obvious, "do what we would normally do."

Poe sighed. "That's easier to say when you've actually got a post to stick to." Finn nodded in agreement.

"Well, then, what do you suggest we do?" Rose asked, arms folding. Poe was silent, trying to figure out a plan with which to answer.

"We could find this codebreaker ourselves." Everyone turned toward Finn in surprise. The fresh fleece shrank a little in the sudden wash of stares, but he continued. "I mean, Davin couldn't have been the only one in the Resistance with access to the database. If we take a look at his file, we can find out who this guy is and if there's a way to contact him. If it works—"

"—We could save the Resistance," Poe finished, latching onto the plan eagerly. He searched the others for second opinions. Rose glanced furtively from him to Finn, still trying to decide whether she liked Finn more for his idea or less. Poe's gaze then turned onto Bernard, who shrugged in assent.

"Well, it's a plan."

Finding his second opinion, a confident smile fell across Poe's face. "Let's find out what we can, then."


	4. I'll Do It

"But Command—I-I mean, Captain Dameron, sir, I really must protest!"

"What is there to protest? We just want you to look at a file in the database for us."

"But—"

"As the General's personal droid, you have access to the database, right?"

"Yes sir, but I was also ordered to retrieve a personal item from General Leia's quarters, and—"

"And we'll let you get right back to it as soon as we're done! It won't take long. All we want to look at is one file on a person that could be very important to the Resistance. Just one. That won't be too difficult, will it?"

"No sir, but—"

This sort of conversation is what filled the corridors as Poe led the golden droid back to a lower level computer room (where the others waited), and brought him through the door. Once there, the droid was somewhat more compliant. As Rose helped hook him up to the computer and explained their plan, Poe shook his head.

"It's strange to think," he murmured to the other two men, "that a fussy old droid like that was a hero in the Imperial Wars."

"Yeah."

"Him?" asked Finn, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"Well, of course," Bernard said. "It's C-3PO."

"Who?"

"You know, the Princess' droid, the one who pulled together that little army for the Battle of Endor? Saved the Skywalkers and Han Solo from getting turned into garbage jelly on the Death Star, and helped that R2 droid get the Death Star plans to the Rebels?"

The surprise transformed into wonder. "He did all that? That old droid?"

Bernard fixed his eye on him sharply. "Now, don't tell me you never heard those stories."

"Would I be punished if I said no?"

"Of course not!"

The other tilted his head down awkwardly. "No."

"And they wonder why the galaxy is going down the tubes," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"He did just come out of the First Order, Bernard," added Poe, as if in explanation. Bernard conceded the point with a sideways nod and shrug. "Still, Finn," Poe continued, "if you needed to hear those stories, you came to the right place. Bernard will tell it to you and you'll wonder if you were really there."

"Really?"

Bernard raised his eyebrows and the edges of his mouth a little. "Well, I've been told they have that effect."

"Hey, guys, we're in!" Rose interrupted triumphantly, unaware (probably) of what she was doing. Either way, her proclamation caught their attention away from the conversation, so ending it.

"Okay, good job, you two," said Poe. "Now 3PO, we need you to cross-reference codebreakers and… what was the flower Davin said?"

"Carnation, I think," Bernard recalled.

"No, no, it was a plom bloom," Rose corrected.

"Do you mean the dianthus plomini?" asked the droid.

"Yes, that's exactly what he said."

"Oh, no, I remember it pretty distinctly, and he said the file said carnation."

"Oh brother," Poe muttered with a grin, "here we go again."

"And I remember he said diantho plomini or whatever the scientific name was," Rose continued, "'commonly known as a plom bloom'."

"The scientific name is in fact dianthus plomini ," the droid interjected, "and might we possibly come to an agreement so that—oh my!" This last was said in surprise as the holographic image that served as a screen suddenly shut off and vanished.

"Hey, what'd you do?!" snapped Rose.

"Why, Miss Tico, I hardly—"

"Oh, don't mind her," Bernard interrupted quickly. "If you didn't do anything, what did happen?"

"I'm not entirely certain, sir. All my access was cut off suddenly, and I was shut out! As if I were nothing but a common hacker!"

He likely would have continued complaining of his treatment for some time, had not another image appeared in place of the screen. All except Finn recognized it as Commander D'Acy. Her pixellated mouth spoke.

"In order to conserve power, all database computers are being shut down, by order of Admiral Holdo. They are only to be accessed by authorized personnel or for medical statistics. Thank you."

As suddenly as she had appeared, she clicked off. Poe jumped forward, barking orders.

"Well, don't just stand there! Try to get back in!"

"It's no use!" Rose yipped back in despair. "They'll have had the power shut off, we can't get back into the database unless it's turned on again at the core circuit!" There was a general groan of disappointment and frustration all round.

"Well," said Bernard, resignedly, "I guess that's the end of this whole plan about codebreakers and trackers."

"Is it?" Poe replied, and the syllables had a curious boldness to them.

"Yes. I mean, there's not nearly enough to go on. Even if you sent a team, they'd be going in completely blind."

"Not completely." One could see the gears turning behind Poe's eyes. "We know what city he lives in, on which planet. We know his background. And we have an identifier: the plom bloom he wears."

Bernard blinked at him suspiciously, then narrowed his eyes with a somewhat incredulous smile. "Uh, Poe, maybe I'm crazy, unless it's you, because it sounds to me like you're actually considering this plan."

"Oh, I'm past considering. I think if we get a team to Canto Bight, they'll be able to find him."

The smile disappeared. "Now, wait a minute—"

Poe ignored him for the moment. "They find him, they bring him back to the First Order's flagship. He scrambles the tracker, then they return to the fleet and we jump to lightspeed. That's what I say." Then he turned and looked at Bernard, eyebrows up expectantly. "Now, any objections?"

"Only about thirty-seven."

"Thought so."

"For one thing, you don't know anything about what this guy looks like, aside from the little carnation he wears."

"Plom bloom, Bernard," Rose corrected again, smugly.

Bernard rolled his eyes. "That's not the point. Now, just think about what we're talking about here. We're talking about sending some of our forces, which aren't exactly what you'd call unlimited at the moment, to some kind of a—a swanky casino planet to find a guy with a red flower pin, in hopes that he'll agree to come back with you to the main ship of the First Order! Now, doesn't that sound at least a little bit funny to you?"

"I get where you're coming from, Bernard. But I'm stubborn about this one. My mind is made up, and it's staying that way."

Despite his irritation, Bernard laughed. "Poe, you've been around me too long."

Poe smiled, but it grew serious across his face. "The fact is, somebody needs to be doing something. If Holdo's doing anything—and I'm not that sure she is—she's not telling the rest of the crew. We need some kind of hope, even if it's a chancy one."

"Is that so?"

"Now, we'll need volunteers to go to Canto Bight."

"Poe, look. Now, believe me, I'm all for doing something about this whole ridiculous situation. I just don't think jumping blindly into another one is the way to do it."

"And even if Admiral Holdo were to approve this plan (which is highly unlikely)," added C-3PO, whom they'd forgotten was there, "I must also note that by my calculations, the discombobulation would only last a maximum of six minutes, 27.009 seconds, at least according to the limited information and speculation Miss Tico has provided. That leaves very little time for said operatives to return to the fleet before our re-entry into hyperspace."

Bernard pointed at the golden droid and dipped his head in agreement. "You see? Now, unless you want to skip over that part when you brief folks on this whole plan, I don't think you're gonna get many volunteers."

This was the first thing that gave Poe pause. His eyes flickered to the ground, then up again. "I'm not gonna lie to our fighters. No, somebody's gotta tell it to them straight, and it looks like that person's not gonna be Holdo." He sighed. "I just wish there was a way to—"

"I'll do it," said a quiet voice. Once again, they all turned to Finn in surprise. But though his voice remained low, the sheepish hesitancy from before was nowhere to be seen. "If you send me, you won't lose any of your fighters. Mr. Walton said himself, I don't have a post here. Besides, when I was a janitor there, I memorized every hallway. I can get our codebreaker where he needs to go."

Bernard lifted his eyebrows, impressed, with the young man's sudden courage and nobility even more than with his ex-janitor position. If they ever found the guy, he started to think, maybe they'll actually have a chance at succeeding.

"If Finn's going, I'm going," added Rose, straightening her spine as she stepped forward.

Never mind.

"And I can help with the process of—"

"No, no, now, I really don't think you oughtta go."

"Why? Because you're worried about me?"

"No, because you'll do something ridiculous and mess up whatever chances this mission had in the first place." She frowned. "At any rate, I think you'd need more than one sensible person on this trip."

"Hmm," Poe mused. "Good point, Bernard."

"Well, glad you're starting to see sense."

Poe crouched down beside his little orange-and-white droid. "BB-8, make sure you keep a special eye on Rose, okay? Make sure she doesn't get hold of any volt keys."

This time, Bernard frowned and crossed his arms. "That's not what I meant."

Poe looked up. "I know." He rose to his feet again. "But I really believe this can save the Resistance."

"Let's take a vote, right now," said Rose. "All in favor of this plan?"

"Now, Rose, hold on just—"

Before he had time to get out a full protest, three voices cried "Aye!" Even BB-8 beeped loudly.

"Four to one, Bernard," Rose declared, seeming to enjoy the pronouncement. "Two, if you count 3PO. Either way, you're outnumbered."

"Yeah, thanks, I noticed."

"The plan's in," Poe continued. "Finn, Rose, you and BB-8 find the codebreaker, get him to the ship, shut down the tracker. I'll cover for you, and be ready to make the jump to lightspeed soon as you're back."

"Got it," replied Finn, confidently. Rose replied similarly, and BB-8 whistled.

After receiving their mission, the group (or perhaps it would be closer to a duo) broke up to talk personally to the others. Finn stepped over to talk to Poe, (and to arrange the return of a certain object to the General, which does not much come into this story). Meanwhile, Rose strutted over to Bernard, with a very self-satisfied smile.

"Well, I suppose I oughtta congratulate you on getting to be a part of this wild goose chase, which might well end up as a suicide mission."

"Thank you."

"There's not gonna be any point to my trying to convince you to stay, is there?"

"Not a chance. This is my first big mission, and I am not giving up my chance."

"Your chance to possibly get yourself killed?"

"Why? Jealous?"

"Of that? Huh, I think you are crazy. Or are you just trying to impress somebody?" And he jerked his head toward Finn.

"Don't be ridiculous," she shot back before she could take aim. "I just want to, um, to make a name for myself. When I succeed, everybody will know who I am. Maybe you'll be telling stories about me, someday, instead!"

"Oh, trust me, I already do. But… listen, I wanted to—"

"Forget it, Bernard, I'm not gonna change my mind!"

"Well, actually, I was gonna ask—" But she had already strutted off to talk to Finn. Bernard finished with a sigh, "—if you wanted me to come."

"You want to go with them?" Poe was standing beside him, looking a bit surprised. "I thought you said this was the silliest idea you've ever heard."

"Yes, and I still think it's a silly idea, specially when you don't know anything about the guy you're looking for. But…"

"But?"

"Well, I just think they oughtta have somebody to make sure they don't get into too much trouble, that's all. That friend of yours is brave, but he doesn't have any idea how to handle Rose."

"What about BB-8?"

"Ha. No offense, Poe, but he barely comes above my knee."

"Point taken. But he's pretty resourceful—I think he's more than capable of keeping up with them.

At this point of their conversation, C-3PO came up and tried to respectfully interrupt. "Sir?"

"It's not his keeping up that's the problem. I think—"

"Bernard, they'll be fine. I believe they can find our codebreaker. If they do, they'll be saving the Resistance."

"And if they don't find him?"

"Then…" Poe sighed. "Then at least they'll be out of the line of fire."

The other shrugged. "Well, that's something, I guess."

"Uh, sir?" the golden droid repeated, with a bit more urgency.

"I'd still feel better if somebody else with sense went along."

"Well, if you're that concerned about it, we'll get somebody to—"

"Captain Dameron, I must tell you something!"

"What is it, 3PO? I gotta talk to Finn and Rose about the plan. Where are they?"

"That's just it, sir. They've gone."

"Gone? Where?"

"I believe Miss Tico said something about 'leaving before they change their minds.' I assume she meant you, sir."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Well, I did try, sir, but—"

"I gotta catch them before they leave." Poe rushed out into the hall and disappeared.

Bernard sighed. "This is ridiculous." Then he looked at the golden droid and jerked his head toward the door. "You're the only one in this group with any sense, you know that, 3PO?"

"Alas, sir, it appears my constant burden is to be the sole voice of reason."


End file.
